Bringing Olivia Home
by pandoralovee
Summary: Santana and Brittany struggle to deal with the unexpected return of their 9 year old daughter; who had been missing for almost five months.
1. Chapter 1

**trigger warning: contains references to sexual, emotional, and physical abuse; depression, and attempted suicide**

...

Santana sits in the uncomfortable plastic chair that the hospital provides; waiting. Her head is completely blank, not a decent thought coming to mind besides the anger and hatred she has for Jackson Brand; the man who had destroyed her family for such a long and agonizing period of time. She brings her left hand up- because the right is still bandaged and sore from breaking the bathroom mirror with her first, and caresses her daughter's sweet and innocent face; now bruised and beaten. Santana sighs shakily, willing herself to control the raging fury continuously rising in her chest, as she leans forward and just barely presses her lips to the little girl's cheek.

Brittany left the room a few minutes ago. The beeping of the machines, the blank and occasionally horrified expression on her wife's face, the stillness of her daughter; it became too much. She walks down the narrow, dimly lit hallway of the hospital downtown; her thoughts drifting to how different their lives had been only a few months ago. She pauses; noticing a similar family by the vending machines. A little girl resting on her father's shoulders, while the mother is crouched down, grabbing the Snickers bar for her daughter. Brittany smiles, briefly, at the sight. Until the remembrance of her own family invades her mind and the smile is gone; replaced with an emotionless whimper, as she wonders how their lives became so fucked up.

xxxx

"Mama?"

Santana looks down at the blue-eyed girl with a soft smile, and crouches down so that she is now at eye level with her. "Yes baby girl?" She responds, smoothing a few of her daughter's stray dark hairs back.

"Where are we going?" Olivia asks quietly as her eyes drift to Brittany, who is currently placing the loads of suitcases and carry-on bags into the trunk of the family's white Cadillac SUV.

"Well," Santana pauses, bringing her hand up to cup the little brunette's face; almost scared that she might disappear again if she isn't touching her in someway. "Mommy and I are taking you on a little vacation."

"Vacation?" Olivia's eyes sparkle at the idea, and it amazes Santana that even with all the shit her little girl has been through, she still finds a way to feel happy. "Where?"

"Remember abuelo and abuela's vacation house in the mountains? The one we went to for Christmas last year?"

Olivia's blue eyes widen; and Santana smiles. "The really big one? With the lake in the back?" She asks in awe.

"That's the one." Santana nods and wraps her arms tightly around the girl's waist, as she pulls her in for a hug. "Mama loves you so, so much baby girl. Never forget that." She whispers; feeling the need to reassure the nine year old every chance she had.

"I love you too," Olivia replies, and then her smile disappears and the sparkle in her eyes seems to dim.

Santana frowns. "What's-"

"Are we going to abuelo and abuela's house so that man can't hurt me again?"

Santana tenses, and she hears Brittany gasp and drop one of the bags; in shock, in horror. She fights back months worth of unshed tears and swallows the lump in her throat, quickly blinking her eyes as she responds with a calm and simple, "Yes, baby."

...

The ride to the Lopez family home didn't take as long as Brittany had hoped. Long car rides had never been her favorite; but the reality of what would happen when they arrived terrified her.

Olivia seemed fine for the most part. Emotionally and mentally wise, neither her nor Santana had noticed any change in her usual sunny disposition; yes she didn't smile quite as much and she continued to struggle with making eye contact, but besides that there was _nothing_.

And that is exactly what worried Brittany.

Receiving the news of the multiple counts of sexual and physical abuse the little girl had dealt with over the recent months had _shocked_, _horrified_, and _disgusted_ both women. Brittany hadn't been able to digest the information with a steady stomach; she ran out of the room and emptied her previous meal within the toilet placed in the bathroom down the hall.

Santana had become pale before turning a sickly green color; until anger, her most persistent emotion, took over and then everything went to hell. Brittany had to force her arms down as she pulled Santana closely to her body and held her tightly; while the woman screamed and sobbed, throwing words of profanity at the doctor; at the psychiatrist; at herself.

Santana had willed death upon Jackson Brand if he ever had the unfortunate fate as to cross paths with herself; and if Brittany were to be honest, so had she.

...

"No mommy, tigers are way better than lions."

It was later on that evening, after everyone had become more adjusted and settled with the new environment. Brittany and Olivia had been in this intense conversation for the better part of twenty minutes; while Santana prepared dinner- Olivia's favorite dish, her homemade enchiladas.

"I dunno Liv," Brittany sighs, over exaggerating her movements. "The lion is the king of the jungle. You know, where do you think _The Lion King_ came from?"

Olivia nods, considering this argument. "Yes, but tigers are more fierce. And that's what matters." She states confidently.

"Hm, can't argue with that, Britt." Santana agrees from her placement by the stove, where she was mixing together the ingredients for her abuela's legendary red sauce.

Brittany pouts playfully and Olivia smiles, wrapping her tan arms tightly around her mother's neck as she mumbles a quiet, "I love you, mommy."

Brittany melts. From both happiness and pain; knowing it was only the first night, and she was almost positive that it was impossible for things to be this simple.

...

It wasn't until early, too early in the morning to check the time that both Brittany and Santana had realized the horrifying truth of just how damaged their little girl was; when Olivia's screams and cries had awakened them both, as they rushed to her bedroom and Santana cradled her in her arms as she willed the nightmares, the fresh and disturbing memories to go away.

...

**not sure how long this fic will be, I guess it'll depend on how many people are interested...**


	2. Chapter 2

"Take your medicine, baby." Santana smiles as she hands Olivia two small, red and blue pills.

Olivia frowns; but reluctantly obliges. "How much longer do I have to take these, mama?" She asks, before tossing her head back while downing the pills with the bottle of water that Santana had handed her.

"Until the doctor calls, Liv. Which hopefully, won't be that much longer." Santana explains.

The anticipation of receiving Olivia's test results- where they've tested both Jackson Brand and the smaller brunette for any sexually transmitted diseases- have had Santana and Brittany apprehensively waiting.

The possibility of Olivia testing positive petrified them; as if she hadn't been through enough hell already.

"Can he call soon?" Olivia questions innocently, crawling into her mother's open and awaiting arms. "'Cause I don't wanna take those pills anymore."

Santana tightens her hold on the smaller body in her arms; nuzzling her nose into Olivia's vanilla-scented hair and sighs. "Hopefully soon, baby girl. We must be patient."

"Ok." Olivia nods and shifts in Santana's arms, resting her head on the Latina's shoulder. "Will you sing to me, mama?"

"Of course," Santana presses a soft kiss to her temple, "What do you want me to sing?"

"Yours and mommy's song." Olivia states while toying with the wedding ring on a tan finger. "The one she says you sang to her at your wedding."

"Good choice," Santana winks and dramatically clears her throat, smiling when she receives a small giggle from the little girl's mouth.

_To you, I'll give the world._

_To you, I'll never be cold._

_'Cause I feel that when I'm with you, it's alright_

_I know it's right_

_And the songbirds are singing, like_

_they know the score._

_And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before._

...

"Look what mommy got," Brittany smiles as she enters the spacious marble kitchen with multiple grocery bags in her arms.

Olivia's eyes brighten as she hops down from one of the stools at the island and runs to the blonde; staring up at Brittany with wide blue eyes. "Did you get the stuff, mommy?" She whispers, keeping the conversation a hushed discussion between the two.

"I did." Brittany plays along, in an equally quiet tone. "Where's mama?" She then asks, noticing the Latina's absence.

"Outside." Olivia turns and points towards the kitchen door, which lead to the patio outdoors.

Brittany frowns as she squints her eyes to get a clearer view of her wife, noticing how tightly Santana had her arms wrapped around herself. "Liv, can you do me a huge favor and start taking the groceries out of these bags." She asks sweetly, knowing how much her daughter absolutely loved helping her and Santana in the kitchen.

"Yes!" Olivia smiles and grabs the bags one by one, setting them on the island as she begins to carefully and strategically line them up.

Brittany laughs; before slipping out of the kitchen as she quietly closes the door behind her, not wanting to startle Santana. She then waits, taking note of her wife's body language and posture before hesitantly approaching; her hands resting on either side on Santana's waist.

"Holy shi-" Santana jumps; her heart pounding against her chest as she faces Brittany with wide eyes. "Brittany, you scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry," Brittany states as her face begins to turn a crimson color. "I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Santana waves it off while smoothing down her slightly wrinkled _Amy_ _Winehouse_ t-shirt, the one Brittany bought her for Christmas last year.

Brittany watches her movements carefully; debating on whether she should address the issue or not. She was aware it was only the the third night, but they had known of this for almost a week and a half and still hadn't discussed what had happened to Olivia. Santana refused.

"Santana..."

Santana stares back at her wife with a quirked brow, almost challenging her to mention it.

"I thought we could make homemade pizzas for dinner, you know Olivia loves it." Brittany decides on, understanding that _now_ may not be the best time to bring _it_ up. "I went to the small market in town and bought everything we needed; dough, toppings, sauce."

Brittany swears she hears Santana let out a relieved sigh, before saying, "Ok, cool. Do you want to go ahead and start rolling out the dough for the crust while I get Olivia in the shower?"

"Sure." Brittany nods and smiles.

Remaining oblivious to the situation for a little longer wouldn't kill them.

...

Again, around midnight; Brittany's leaning back against the headboard of the king-sized bed as Santana re-enters the bedroom, now carrying a distraught Olivia in her arms. She hears Santana soft humming, making it almost impossible for Olivia's quiet whimpers to be heard.

"Hey baby," Brittany softly says once Santana's body hits the mattress; Olivia's face hidden in the crook of her mother's neck.

Olivia peeps one eye open as she states at Brittany, and the blonde feels her heart shattering at the hint of terror she found there.

Santana places a kiss on Olivia's forehead, as she continues to hum the tune of Songbird and gently rocks them back and forth in a soothing motion. It isn't until Brittany gets a good luck at her wife's face, that she realizes Santana had been crying too.

Santana's eyes flutter shut when Brittany's soft hands begin to caress the smooth skin of her cheeks, before carefully removing any fallen tears with the pad of her thumb.

"It's ok to cry, Santana," Brittany whispers into the dimly lit room; the only source of light being the full moon shining from behind the curtains. "We're allowed to cry, too."

Santana shakes her head, jerking away from the skin on skin contact. It was becoming too much. "We have to be strong Brittany, we're supposed to be strong for her." She snaps, a few more tears making a path down her face. "This isn't showing strength, us crying over nothing. Absolutely _nothing_. We have no idea what she's been through." Her voice breaks, and her stoic composure begins to crumble.

"Oh _baby_-" Brittany leans forward, stroking Santana's dark hair as it involuntarily falls onto her shoulder. "It's going to be ok." She promises brokenly.

"Why did this have to happen to us?" Santana mumbles into the soft cotton material of Brittany's long-sleeved shirt. "I mean, we're good people right? Well I may be a bitch, but you've always had a good heart, Brittany. And aren't the good supposed to receive greatness in their lives?"

Brittany sighs, but doesn't respond. She doesn't know how to; she doesn't have an answer for Santana's question. So instead, she continues to run her fingers through silky dark locks until the sun begins to rise over the hills, and until she hears both Santana and Olivia's breathing begin to even out.


End file.
